There were two major reactions when the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 schedule dropped. One, the schedule was brutal. Two, head coach Mike Tomlin’s streak of non-losing seasons will end in 2024.
Tomlin is a divisive figure in Pittsburgh. On one hand, it’s hard to argue with a Super Bowl win and the sheer number of victories he’s led the Steelers to in his coaching career. On the other hand, the Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016. With a tough schedule in 2024, feelings toward Tomlin will become even sharper. Can he continue his steak and even lead the Steelers to a playoff win?
“I don’t think this is the year that his streak ends,” Former Steelers S Ryan Clark said on Friday’s episode of First Take on ESPN. “But I do think this is the year he has to prove to the entire world that he is the Hall of Fame coach I believe him to be. This team has meandered around the 9-8 level where they can either just leak into the playoffs or find a way to get a spot in the Wild Card. But he has to show that, whether it’s Russell Wilson or if it’s Justin Fields, that this team can actually be a competitor.”
There are plenty of people out there who will tell you that Tomlin is a Hall of Fame head coach. Even former NFL coaches Pete Carroll and Rex Ryan have said it. But there are also plenty of people who are fed up with Tomlin. They’ll argue that the Steelers have slipped into a perpetual mode of mediocrity where non-losing seasons have become the standard.
Clark believes that the streak of non-losing seasons will continue in 2024. If Tomlin does succeed in that, it’s another feather in his cap. That’s not the goal, though. The Steelers have spoken adamantly about wanting to win playoff games now, starting with team president Art Rooney II.
That’s what Clark is talking about when he says Tomlin has to prove himself. He wants to see Tomlin leading the Steelers to the playoffs and winning in 2024. That will involve navigating a backloaded AFC North schedule. That means guiding the Steelers through a late-season stretch of short weeks against tough opponents. That includes last year’s Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs.
If the Steelers make it to the playoffs through that and win a game, how can fans not be impressed by Tomlin? Clark isn’t the only former Steelers player talking about how this schedule can help Tomlin prove himself. Former WR Plaxico Burress believes that the Steelers making the playoffs this season further solidifies Tomlin as a Hall of Famer.
In order for that to happen, Tomlin has to get the quarterback situation right. That’s not entirely up to him, but he will have the final say of who starts and who doesn’t between Wilson and Fields. He’s already staking offensive improvement on hiring former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith as the new offensive coordinator. If Tomlin and Smith are able to get either quarterback to perform at even an average NFL level, the chances for success this season will be high.
Tomlin keeping the Steelers competitive in nearly every game is a given. But it’s going to be about winning games. The Steelers aren’t expected to win a whole lot in 2024. If Tomlin gets the team to win games they aren’t supposed to, that’s going to further cement his case for a bust in Canton, Ohio when all is said and done in his career.
